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His lip twitched. “I’m sorry for forcing you to move out of your dangerous apartment and come stay with me.”
“You threatened to call my mother!”
“But I didn’t.”
“No, instead you bullied my landlord into ending my lease early.”
“You’re right, I’m a dick.”
“You are a dick.”
He stood up and sauntered over, stopped directly in front of me so he was looking down at me. There was less than a foot between us. I continued to maintain eye contact, refusing to back down.
“If I had to another chance, I’d do the exact same thing.” His voice was soft but forceful, his eyes looking intensely into mine. “Because when it comes to your safety, I’m always going to do what I think is right. Even if it makes you hate me.”
I swallowed and finally broke eye contact. There were butterflies in my belly from the intensity in his look, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. I walked away and into the kitchen, where I began going through his cupboards, purposefully leaving some of them open when I moved to the next one.
He pivoted to face me, crossing his arms and scowling. “What are you doing?’
“Oh, just familiarizing myself with your—I mean, our—kitchen,” I said and smiled prettily.
His frown deepened and he strode to the breakfast bar, stood with his fists clenched against the surface of the granite. “Are you hungry? I can heat up your dinner.”
“No, no—I’m just going to make myself something,” I said, enjoying his discomfort. His reaction was just as I’d expected; Dallon was a control freak, after all.
He came around the bar and into the kitchen, where he pulled out a plate from the fridge. “I ordered Chinese. I’m going to heat it up for you.”
I let him heat up the food, but I continued to get in his way, opening a drawer directly above the microwave to look for a tea bag. When he started closing the cupboards I’d left open, I blocked his path, first putting water in the kettle and then placing it on the stove. Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer.
“Are you purposefully trying to get under my skin?”
I looked up at him with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”
He smiled, but his eyes didn’t. “I’ve seen that innocent act before, Miss Clair. I’ll return to my program now. Enjoy your dinner.” He returned to the living room and put his feet back up on the table.
When the kettle finished boiling, I carried my tea and steak past the living room and toward the staircase.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to my room to eat, if that’s all right?” I asked, trying my best to raise my eyebrow the way he did. “I’ll try not to get crumbs everywhere.”
“Go ahead.” He made a motion with his arm, his jaw clenched.
I climbed the staircase, a grin on my face.
***
When I entered the kitchen the next morning, showered and ready to head to the café, Dallon’s bedroom door was wide open. On my way to the kitchen, I peeked into his room to find the bed made. Apparently he’d left the apartment. It was noon, after all.
I made a quick breakfast of eggs and fruit and then went to the subway to head to work. I was so used to traveling from Brooklyn that I got to work in record time: almost an hour early.
“You know your shift doesn’t start for an hour yet?” Jackson smiled when I came in. “Or were you just hoping to see me?”
I made a face at him. Jackson was on the morning shift that day, a rarity. He’d requested it because some guy he had been talking about recently wanted to take him to a concert.
I said hi to Michelle before responding to him. “I just didn’t have anything to do so I thought I’d read the paper.”
I grabbed a newspaper and sat down at an empty table. Jackson filled a mug with coffee and carried it over to me.
“Thanks,” I said, wrapping my hands around it.
He glanced quickly at Michelle, who was wiping the counters, before sitting down across from me. “How’d it go the other night?”
I flinched. “How much of that did you hear?”
He grinned. “Oh, just the argument about you working at Mix. Possessive, isn’t he?”
“You could say that,” I muttered. “What was with you helping him by the way?”
Jackson shrugged, but he had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “He just really wanted to talk to you, and I thought I’d help a brother out.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t the money?” I teased.
He laughed. “He’s hot, Amy. And he really wants you. What’s going on between you two? It seems very love-hate and… intense.”
“It is.” I took a deep breath. Jackson didn’t travel in my circle, so he was someone safe I could talk to, and I needed someone to talk to. I was in over my head.
“He had me move in with him.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. I spent the night there on Friday, and nothing really happened, he slept on the couch and let me sleep in his bed.” Jackson made a disappointed noise and I punched him playfully before continuing. “Then the next day he gave me an iPhone and was super sweet and helped me apply for various office positions.”
“You didn’t go to Mix, did you?” Jackson asked, sounding like he already knew the answer.
I bit my lip. “No.” Then I rushed to add, “But I was feeling more hopeful after applying for all those jobs.”
“Of course,” Jackson winked.
“Anyway, we went back to my place so I could get a change of clothes, and it was a disaster. The door got stuck when we tried to go in, and he ended up breaking it. Then my obnoxious drunk neighbor came by and called me a prude and I had to confess that he’d hit on me, at which point Dallon freaked and said I should move in with him.”
I finished the last sentence quickly and then held my breath, waited for Jackson to state his opinion.
Jackson made a low whistling sound and sat back in his chair. “It sounds like he’s crazy about you.”
I shook my head, still fuming about the situation. “He let me call the landlord about the door and then snatched the phone away, told him I was moving out.”
“Your white knight,” Jackson said, trying not to smile.
“A manipulative white knight! He also threatened to call my mother.”
At this, Jackson tilted his head back and laughed loudly. “He’s paying me off and using your mother’s fear of Brooklyn to get you all to himself.”
“Exactly,” I seethed.
“So is his place nice? He’s the CEO of a securities firm, right? I bet it’s amazing.”
I sighed. To an outsider like Jackson, the situation probably sounded like a dream come true. “It
is. I’m staying in the guestroom and it’s the nicest room I’ve ever had. You should see the Master.”
“I wish,” Jackson winked. “Is he making you pay rent?”
“No,” I said bitterly.
Jackson chuckled and stood up to go back to work. “I don’t see the problem here, Amy. Relax. Enjoy the ride. You don’t have to love the guy.”
As he walked back to the counter, I opened the paper and pretended to read. It was true; I didn’t have to love Dallon, but could I be like Jackson and live with someone and have fun and not develop feelings?
When it was time for my shift to start, Michelle found me looking at the schedule. The new week started on Wednesday and my name wasn’t anywhere on the calendar. Shoot.
“I replaced you with Beth going forward, so your last shift will be Tuesday. Does that work for you?” Michelle asked, coming up behind me.
“Oh, yeah, totally,” I said, quickly dropping my gaze and tying my apron. “And I can help out if you need someone to cover a shift or something.”
She smiled. “That would be great.”
Halfway through my shift, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out to see a message from Dallon.
Working on a deal. Be back late. How are you?
How was I? Confused. All I’d ever been since Dallon came into my life was confused. Instead of writing him back, I put my phone in my purse in the back room so I wouldn’t be tempted to respond.
At the end of my shift, I pulled out my phone to see another message from Dallon:
Still angry? I hope you’re pouting. I like it when you pout.
I gritted my teeth and opened the next message. It was from Sam.
We got you a housewarming gift! Can we pick you up after work and go for dinner? We’ll pick you up at work at 6. We can drive you home too. xoxo
Shit. Of course Sam knew the café closed at 6 on Sundays—she also knew my schedule. As I re-read her message, wondering how I should respond, Michelle called from the front to let me know my friends were there.
Double shit. I took a deep, steadying breath and returned to the front to see Sam and Luke waiting for me holding coffees. Sam rushed forward and hugged me.
